Direct from an email I received. This and many other stories should be enough to stop biased lawmakers, interest groups and lobbyists from pushing for unfair antagonistic laws against fathers that keep them from being parents.

TRUE: Male=Equally Viable ParentFALSE: Male=violent abuser

> I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights topay> for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared> with Dick Hoyt, I suck.>> Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in> marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a> wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimmingand> pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same> day.>> Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back> mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike.Makes> taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?( Read more...Collapse )

I enjoyed my day with my now 4 year old son. What a joy. His unconditional love and our bond is what keeps me going each day. It's hard not to tear up just thinking about him. I miss my stepson just as deeply.

fathers keep up your hard work or start making the efforts to be a presence in your children's lives. Prove them all wrong and prove that fathers are more than checkbooks.

Disclaimer: Sometimes ACFC is too right wing aligned, but the CAUSE of gender egalitarianism as it relates to children should not be ignored. Why is it okay for feminists to preach equal rights only when it's convenient for feminists? Correction: ifeminist supports TRUE gender egalitarianism. True equality under "just law".

When a mother and father are divorced or separated, and a child welfare agency removes the children from the mother’s home for abuse or neglect, an offer of placement to the father, barring unfitness, should be automatic. Yet according to a new report by the Urban Institute, few fathers are able to reunite with their children, who are instead pushed into the foster care system.( Read more...Collapse )

The school bus drops off my son at his mothers house. He calls me each day to pick him up as I said he wants to live with me. He checked the mail before I picked him up and he received his acceptance letter to Penn State University. We were both smiling, high fiving, yelling in the car on the way back to my house. I told him how proud I was of him. Then I told him to call his mother at work to share the great news.

She answered the phone and before he could say anything she asked who he was with. He said Dad. She hung up the phone. Probably to put her daily call to the police. Completely shot him through the heart. They just don't get it.

Next week, an important moment will occur in the general trend toward recognizing the societal importance and legal rights of fathers.

On March 28, the New York State Assembly's Children & Families Committee is scheduled to hear Bill A330 on shared parenting. The bill seeks to establish "the presumption in matrimonial proceedings for awarding shared parenting of minor children in the absence of an allegation that shared parenting would be detrimental to the best interests of the child."

In short, a parent seeking sole custody (most commonly the mother) would assume the legal burden of proving why a shared arrangement would harm the child.( Read more...Collapse )

OK, so now that so many of you have seen the tide turning and have your confidence and determination to see how change can be effective will you stand up and get involved to help make shared parenting a reality? There is a long arduous road ahead for shared parenting to take hold in this state. There is research, education, and communication to the public and our public servants which must take place. If you are interested in making shared parenting a reality then I urge you visit gaffc.org and get involved. Share this with your friends, family, and neighbors. Fatherlessness impacts all of our society and all our children directly or indirectly. Children need both parents. Even in this last legislative session Rep Manning stated "Children need both mom and dad." All opposition came in the manner of dad doesn't excercise visitation, but in reality most moms and dads alike want to spend time with their children. The law should state clearly a presumptive award of joint-physical and legal custody with a shared parenting plan that involves both mother and father.